Any credit Alex McLeish had built up with Aston Villa supporters during an unbeaten start to the season – and it was not much, considering most of their games had been drawn – will have been severely depleted on Tuesday night, not so much by the result as by a performance of dismayingly cautious ineptitude. The single effort they managed on target came in the 87th minute, and by the close his team looked as dispirited as they did incompetent.

"I know what winning cup finals can bring, but sometimes it doesn't go for you," said McLeish, who won this competition with Birmingham City last season. "We didn't deserve it. We weren't good enough."

They should have been, given the side he selected, which contained only three changes from the previous Premier League game. His attitude to the competition appeared to be in stark contrast to that of opposite number Owen Coyle, who made nine changes, but given the Trotters came into the game with a record of having lost 12 of their last 16 matches in all competitions, including their last four in the Premier League, a number of his team must have fancied their chances of getting a run in the side.

The visitors certainly looked the hungrier side in the early stages. Stuart Holden, making his return after six months out injured, looked as though he had never been away, and his distribution, along with Fabrice Muamba's physicality, gave Bolton a clear edge in midfield, where Villa looked distinctly lightweight.

Chances were scarce in the first half, with the best coming from a set piece when Bolton's David Wheater headed a Chris Eagles corner against the outside of Shay Given's left‑hand post.

Going into half-time Villa had begun to improve, with Barry Bannan and Stilian Petrov finally beginning to exert some creative influence, but the break did the home team no favours.

Ten minutes into the second period, Bolton took a deserved lead when Marc Albrighton's attempt to intercept a pass succeeded only in diverting the ball to Eagles on the left. The winger still had plenty to do, but he was allowed to cut inside, and did so before thumping a fine angled drive beyond Given.

Villa Park expected a response, both on and off the pitch, but in both cases it was a long time coming, and it was no real surprise when Bolton made the game safe, Richard Dunne missing his attempt to head Ricardo Gardner's free-kick clear and Gaël Kakuta volleying cleanly past Given.

"For Holden to play at the level and intensity he did was remarkable in the circumstances, and looked to have a nice balance," said Coyle. "As a manager you want to pick a team on form, and a few of those players have put themselves in real contention for a place against Arsenal on Saturday."

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